Castor in Gemini is a bright double, magnitudes 1.9 and 3.0, with a separation of 6 arc seconds. Distance: 51 light years.

Nebula and Star Clusters: with the brightness of the sky in Middletown, and with the moon approaching full, visibility of faint objects is limited.

M42, the Orion Nebula is one of the brightest and most well known nebula in the sky. The central core of this star-forming region should still be visible in the 20″ refractor, even though it will appear fairly close to the moon. It is about 1350 light years away.

M42 photo courtesy Al Johnson Jr, ASGH member.

Man-made Objects:

International Space Station (ISS): During Public Observing, there are no visible flyovers. However, earlier in the evening there is a very good pass; at 6:15 pm the ISS will be nearly straight overhead and very bright. Look for a point of light moving SW to NE, as bright as the planet Venus, and without any flashing lights. It will be visible for about two minutes each side of 6:15.

Iridium Satellites: These satellites can produce bright flares (brighter then Venus) from their antenna arrays. Any visible flares will be added closer to the observing date, as prediction accuracy improves. Update: at this time no flares are predicted to occur this evening.